Tears By the Graveyard
by Saint Sky
Summary: Rain pounds down on Soul Society, effectively dampening the shinigami's high spirits. They have won; the war is over. However, out on a high hill stands one young man who can do nothing but stand there before her grave, devastated. HitsuRuki ONE SHOT


**Tears By the Grave**

Rain. That was all Soul Society had seen for the past two days, since the end of the war. Even on the day after their victory, the rain had mercilessly pounded down on the rooftops, effectively dampening everyone's spirits. Aizen was dead; Tousen and Ichimaru were awaiting their execution date. The victory was theirs.

The weather was at odds with this fact. Whether the God of Weather had been misinformed and thought Soul Society had lost, or this was just some strange, coincidental phenomenon, nobody would know.

At the top of a large hill overlooking Seireitei was a small cemetery in which Shinigami War Heroes were buried in. The weather was especially bad up there. The clouds shrouded the sky so much that it looked like eternal night, and lightning flashed, striking tombstones here and there; effectively cracking the stone slabs.

Amidst the torrent of rain, visible only because of his white hair, was a silent young man. His hair was damp with rainwater and hung around his face. His bangs were plastered to his skin, and half-covered his left eye. Both his turquoise eyes glowed light blue every time the lightning struck.

He hadn't moved from that spot for hours. One would even think he was a very realistic statue, if not for the fact that he blinked every now and again. He seemed either immune to the cold or too detached from the world to notice he was sopping wet. His eyes gazed on, empty and haunted, unwavering from the name on the tombstone.

"Captain Hitsugaya…sir?"

Hitsugaya looked up, his brain registering the voice but not recognizing it. He blinked a few times, staring at the one who had drawn him out of his thoughts. "Rukia Kuchiki. What are you doing here?"

Rukia shifted uneasily from foot to foot, her grip tightening on the handle of her opened umbrella. "I have orders from Captain Ukitake to give you this, sir." She held out another umbrella towards Hitsugaya half hopefully.

Hitsugaya turned away. "I don't need it."

The silence stretched on for what seemed like another few hours. Finally, Rukia worked up the courage to speak again. "Whose grave is this, Captain Hitsugaya? I can't see the name through the rain."

Hitsugaya seemed to contemplate whether to answer or not. "Momo Hinamori."

Rukia recalled Renji telling her something about the Fifth Division lieutenant. Her eyes lit up with realization. "Your childhood friend, sir?"

"Yes…that's right. She died during the fight against Aizen."

"How exactly did it happen? You don't need…to answer if you don't want to." Rukia added hastily, noticing the expression on Hitsugaya's face.

Once again, Hitsugaya contemplated whether to inform Rukia or not. He hardly knew the girl. Then again, he did desperately need someone to talk to… "She dove in front of me to take a fatal blow from Aizen."

Rukia's eyes widened. "I…see." What would she have done if Renji had died in such a manner? Probably wept her eyes out and spent half an hour yelling at him for being an idiot. She certainly wouldn't have chosen to stand in front of his grave for hours upon hours in the freezing rain.

A thought struck her. "Do you blame yourself…sir?"

Hitsugaya looked up again. Rukia quailed, seeing in Hitsugaya's eyes that he was on the verge of madness. Hitsugaya let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "I was my fault; after all…I should have kept my guard up more."

"Excuse me for saying so, Captain Hitsugaya, but that is a fool's way of thinking." Rukia murmured. She was struck at how different he looked from the confident, powerful captain she had occasionally seen on the street or joined on missions. That captain had seemed untouchable. Now…sopping wet and obviously grieving, Hitsugaya looked like nothing but the child he was.

Then again, Rukia wasn't one to talk. She was almost a decade younger than Hitsugaya. Slowly, she opened up the umbrella meant for Hitsugaya and held it over his head. The man took it silently, not wanting Rukia to have to hold it for him. Rukia desperately searched for a way to cheer Hitsugaya up. Only one event came to mind. "Do you remember the event which happened around thirty years ago…? The one involving the Thirteenth Division's lieutenant."

"Kaien Shiba."

"Yes, Kaien-dono." Rukia cupped her hand and held it out, allowing the rainwater to drip into her hand. "He was a beloved lieutenant among us at the Thirteenth Division. I loved him once." Rukia had to push herself to continue on. "He tutored me in swordsmanship and cheered me up when I was upset. He was a lot like Ichigo, actually. Kaien-dono had a wife…named Miyako Shiba. I respected her a lot.

"One day, we got news that Miyako-san had been injured on a mission. Kaien-dono and I naturally went to visit her…but she was unconscious, so we left soon afterwards. I have always wondered why neither of us detected…well, the next bit of news we heard about her was that she had slaughtered several of her subordinates and disappeared into the forest." Rukia tipped her hand over, allowing the pool of water gathered at her palm to slide out. "Kaien-dono, Captain Ukitake, and I gave chase. We found Miyako-san eventually…though her body exploded soon afterwards. It turns out there had been a hollow inside her. A parasitic type that could control a body anyway it wanted.

"Kaien-dono began to battle it. He was slowly losing, but when I attempted to interfere, Captain Ukitake prevented me, telling me that this was a battle for Kaien-dono's pride. I didn't understand at the time, but I held myself in check. Then the hollow managed to get inside Kaien-dono." Rukia smiled ruefully. "Captain Ukitake immediately stepped in, but his sickness deterred him from properly battling it. The hollow inside Kaien-dono attacked me, while Captain Ukitake was coughing.

"I…I had my sword out, and I raised it without thinking as Kaien-dono came towards me. My sword…went into his abdomen and then back out the other side…" Rukia's voice choked. "He somehow managed to gain control again for his last few moments. He thanked me for not interfering, and said his farewells. Then he died…in my arms. I can't help but think…if only I had detected the hollow inside Miyako-san during our visit…or if I hadn't raised my sword…would Kaien-dono still be alive today?"

"No." Hitsugaya answered suddenly. "Parasitic hollows are impossible to detect while they are hiding inside a body…and you raised your blade in self defense. You should not blame yourself."

Rukia's eyes grew distant. "I practically killed him."

"You freed him from his suffering."

"You have such an optimistic way of looking at things, Captain Hitsugaya." Rukia commented. "Well, if you think that I shouldn't blame myself for Kaien-dono's death that is the same as saying you are not responsible for Lieutenant Hinamori's death. She chose to block the attack for you. You didn't use her as a human shield, thus it is not your fault."

Hitsugaya stared at Rukia for a moment. "But if I had kept my defense up…there would have been no reason for Hinamori to block an attack at all."

"Like I said before, that is a foolish way to look at things. As I recall, you were already injured severely when you battled Aizen. The injuries must have clouded your senses…it is not your fault, sir. It is nobody's fault. Lieutenant Hinamori had a chance to choose. That was her choice."

Hitsugaya straightened up and pushed strands of his hair away from his face. He looked at Rukia evenly. "Thank you, Kuchiki."

Rukia blinked. "N-No, there's nothing to be thankful for…" Had Hitsugaya been crying? Rukia couldn't be sure, because of the rain water, but…she was half certain that there were tears mingling with the rain on Hitsugaya's cheeks. While she gazed at Hitsugaya uncertainly, the raining stopped.

"It's snowing." Rukia said with some surprise several moments later. It was true; pure white flakes were already covering the damp ground.

Hitsugaya folded his umbrella. "Hinamori always did like it when I made it snow during summer." Rukia suddenly realized that the cause of the bad weather lately had probably been Captain Hitsugaya and his depression. Now there was something interesting to think about.

"Let's go back down to Seireitei, Captain Hitsugaya. Everyone is worried about you." Rukia offered Hitsugaya her hand.

Hitsugaya gazed blankly at her for a moment, and then a ghost of a smile trailed over his lips. He reached out and took the hand.

Together, they walked down the hill, all feelings of guilt forgotten for the moment.


End file.
